How to Stop Sugar Cravings: What Causes Them and What Helps

Sugar cravings usually come from everyday triggers you can change: short sleep, long gaps between meals, stress, and a body clock that makes sweet food more appealing in the evening. The most reliable way to stop them is to eat regular meals built on protein, sleep 7 or more hours, plan for the evening, and cut back on sweet drinks first. In a lab study, two nights of short sleep raised hunger by 24% and appetite for high-carbohydrate foods by 33% to 45% (Spiegel and colleagues, 2004). This guide covers what causes sugar cravings, whether a deficiency is to blame, how to get rid of sugar cravings step by step, cravings at night, and what research shows for supplements.

It is educational, not medical advice.

Key Takeaways

Sleep matters: short sleep raised hunger and the appetite for high-carbohydrate foods in healthy young men (Spiegel and colleagues, 2004).
Evenings are harder: your body clock pushes appetite for sweet, starchy and salty food to its peak around 8 PM (Scheer and colleagues, 2013).
Stress plays a part: women whose cortisol rose most under stress ate more calories on a stressful day and more sweet food overall (Epel and colleagues, 2001).
Start with drinks: sugar-sweetened drinks, desserts and sweet snacks are the leading sources of added sugar in the US diet (CDC).

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Diagram: What drives sugar cravings: short sleep, the evening body clock, stress and light meals. What helps: protein at every meal, 7 or more hours of sleep and fewer sweet drinks.

What Causes Sugar Cravings?

A craving is a strong urge for a specific food, which is different from ordinary hunger. Research points to several common triggers:

Short sleep: after two nights of restricted sleep, healthy young men had lower leptin, higher ghrelin, more hunger and a bigger appetite for calorie-dense, high-carbohydrate foods (Spiegel and colleagues, 2004).
Time of day: in a 13-day lab study, hunger and appetite for sweet, salty and starchy foods followed the body clock, lowest around 8 AM and highest around 8 PM (Scheer and colleagues, 2013).
Stress: in 59 healthy women, high cortisol reactors ate more after a stressful task and chose more sweet food (Epel and colleagues, 2001).
Long gaps and small meals: meals with more protein increase fullness and the hormones that signal it (Leidy and colleagues, 2015), so a light, low-protein meal can leave you looking for something sweet later.
Habit and easy access: sweet drinks and snacks are everywhere, and they are where most added sugar comes from (CDC).

For how different foods affect your blood sugar after a meal, see our guide to blood sugar spikes.

What Deficiency Causes Sugar Cravings?

Research has not identified one nutrient deficiency that causes sugar cravings in most people. The mineral studied most for cravings is chromium: in a placebo-controlled trial of 42 adult women with overweight who reported carbohydrate cravings, 8 weeks of chromium picolinate reduced food intake, hunger and fat cravings compared with placebo (Anton and colleagues, 2008). Our guide to chromium picolinate for blood sugar and cravings covers that research in detail, and our chromium picolinate ingredient page explains what chromium does.

If you are tired most days as well as craving sugar, it is worth asking your doctor to check for common causes of fatigue rather than guessing.

Short sleep raises the hunger hormone ghrelin and lowers leptin; our guide to ghrelin and leptin explains how these signals work.

How to Stop Sugar Cravings: 7 Steps

1. Build each meal around protein

Higher-protein meals produce greater fullness and raise satiety hormones (Leidy and colleagues, 2015). Include a source of protein at breakfast, lunch and dinner, and do not skip meals, so you are not running on empty by mid-afternoon.

2. Add fiber and whole foods

Vegetables, beans, whole grains and fruit make meals more filling. When you want something sweet, fruit gives you sweetness with fiber and water.

3. Sleep 7 or more hours

Adults need 7 or more hours a night (CDC), and short sleep raises the appetite for high-carbohydrate foods (Spiegel and colleagues, 2004). Our guides to how to fall asleep fast and how much deep sleep you need can help.

4. Plan for the evening

Because your body clock makes sweet food more appealing in the evening (Scheer and colleagues, 2013), eat a proper dinner with protein and decide ahead of time what, if anything, you will have for dessert.

5. Have a plan for stress

Stress-driven eating leans toward sweet food (Epel and colleagues, 2001). A short walk, a few minutes of slow breathing or calling a friend can break the link between a stressful moment and the snack drawer. Our guide to supplements for stress and mood covers what research shows for calm.

6. Cut sweet drinks first

Sugar-sweetened drinks are a leading source of added sugar, and US adults averaged about 17 teaspoons of added sugar a day in 2017 to 2018 (CDC). The CDC advises adolescents and adults to have no more than 10 grams of added sugar per meal (CDC). Swapping soda and sweet coffee drinks for water, sparkling water or unsweetened tea is an easy first step.

7. Change the cue

Keep sweets out of sight and out of easy reach, and keep a better option, like fruit, yogurt or nuts, where you will see it. Many people find that cutting back gradually is easier to keep up than banning sugar all at once.

Why Do I Crave Sugar at Night?

Two things stack up at night. Your body clock raises hunger and the appetite for sweet and starchy food toward the evening (Scheer and colleagues, 2013), and if you slept badly the night before, your appetite for high-carbohydrate food is higher still (Spiegel and colleagues, 2004). A filling dinner, a set kitchen closing time and a steady bedtime help most. Our science-based morning routine covers the daytime habits that make evenings easier.

Supplements for Sugar Cravings: What Research Shows

Supplements work best on top of the steps above, not instead of them.

Chromium: the trial above found less food intake, hunger and fat cravings with chromium picolinate than with placebo over 8 weeks (Anton and colleagues, 2008).
OEA (oleoylethanolamide): a fat-derived compound your gut makes after you eat. A 2025 review of 13 randomized trials found that OEA supplements lowered fasting blood sugar, insulin and waist circumference on average (Eslahi and colleagues, 2025). Learn more on our OEA ingredient page and in our OEA benefits and dosage guide.
Berberine: a plant compound studied mainly for blood sugar; see berberine and Ceylon cinnamon together.

Our OEA Supplement provides 200 mg of OEA per two-capsule serving with PEA, L-theanine, acetyl-L-carnitine and green tea extract, for satiety support. Our Berberine Blend provides 500 mg of berberine, 300 mg of Ceylon cinnamon, 100 mg of bitter melon extract and 250 mcg of chromium picolinate per two-capsule serving. The Metabolic Stack combines both with Enhanced NMN. For more on appetite, see natural appetite suppressants and our metabolic health and energy balance hub. Talk to your doctor before taking berberine or chromium if you take medicine that lowers blood sugar, and before starting any supplement if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.

When to See a Doctor

See a doctor if strong cravings come with unusual thirst, passing urine more often, constant tiredness or weight change you cannot explain, or if cravings feel out of your control. A simple blood test can check your blood sugar, and a doctor can look for other causes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the fastest way to stop a sugar craving?

Have a glass of water, eat a protein-rich snack or a piece of fruit, and change what you are doing for a few minutes. Over time, regular meals with protein and enough sleep reduce how often cravings hit (Leidy and colleagues, 2015; Spiegel and colleagues, 2004).

What causes sugar cravings?

Common triggers are short sleep, long gaps between meals, stress, the time of day and habit (Spiegel and colleagues, 2004; Scheer and colleagues, 2013; Epel and colleagues, 2001).

What deficiency causes sugar cravings?

No single deficiency has been shown to cause sugar cravings in most people. Chromium is the mineral studied most for cravings (Anton and colleagues, 2008).

Why do I crave sugar at night?

Your body clock raises appetite for sweet and starchy food toward the evening, peaking around 8 PM (Scheer and colleagues, 2013).

Can lack of sleep cause sugar cravings?

Yes. Two nights of short sleep raised hunger and the appetite for high-carbohydrate foods in healthy young men (Spiegel and colleagues, 2004).

What supplements help with sugar cravings?

Chromium has the most research on cravings (Anton and colleagues, 2008), and OEA has been studied for blood sugar and insulin (Eslahi and colleagues, 2025). Supplements work best alongside better meals and sleep.

How much added sugar is too much?

The CDC advises adolescents and adults to have no more than 10 grams of added sugar per meal (CDC).

How long does it take to stop craving sugar?

It varies from person to person. Most people notice cravings ease as regular meals, better sleep and fewer sweet drinks become habits.